Anyone who reads this blog knows I follow the campus/Madison area media pretty closely. And I don’t… well… ever, comment on the news stations around town. But after seeing the way the photo ordinance was received on campus, promoted in the Badger Herald/Daily Cardinal, and reported in the WSJ and Cap Times, it should be pretty clear to the local TV stations this was an important ordinance. And sure, some stations, such as Channel 3000 had a small story on the issue.
But WKOW really took it to new — and better — levels.
Check this out. There’s video here. It was on the news tonight at 10PM.
A picture is worth a thousand words. To some renters in the City of Madison – one may also be worth hundreds of dollars. Madison’s common council unanimously passed an ordinance Tuesday night that requires landlords to have evidence of damage if they keep money from a tenant’s security deposit.
Alder Eli Judge came up with the idea. He says its a win win, both landlords and tenants are more protected. But an area property manager says it may be renters who lose out. They’re the ones who’ll most likely be picking up the tab.
With hundreds of rental properties in the City of Madison, Alder Eli Judge saw a problem brewing. “A lot of landlords, property owners in the area are actually exaggerating or completely fabricating charges,” says the Alder from District 8. From dirty carpet, to chipped paint, landlords can take a portion of a security deposit for damage. Prior to this ordinance, landlords didn’t have to provide proof of who did the damage, or even that it occurred.
And hey, they even got the obligatory BS from Madison Property Management — a group that once charged my friends and I several hundreds of dollars for work they never did, and at one point, threw fines at us for work they “did” YEARS prior when some of the current tenants weren’t even at UW-Madison.
Madison Property Management President Jim Stopple says the new ordinance will most likely end up costing renters in the long run. “There’s going to be some added costs, some added labor…It’s just an added overhead that’s going to be passed on to the consumer probably.”
I understand why WKOW included this. It is a position taken by some landlords.
But as for their claims? Oh, please. Many landlords already take pictures and they don’t complain about the costs. And the ones that don’t take photos already still have some method of checking each room. That extra twenty seconds using your index finger to take pictures … poor babies! What a fear-tactic/fallacious argument MPM is using here. MPM should be ashamed. And this is coming from a blogger that frequently acts as a boogie-man against Madison regulations.
Madison Property Management, it’s called ethics. Learn it. You’re exactly the reason why the market can never be left 100% to its own devices.
But anyway, that’s besides the point.
I know at least one person from WKOW reads this blog, and I hope they have used it to get somewhat of a pulse about what’s going on at UW.
Whether it’s from my blog or not, I want to say, good work WKOW. Some solid reporting tonight.
15 Comments
April 10, 2008 at 1:41 am
Evil.
I dare ANY student renting from them to contest that.
April 10, 2008 at 9:37 am
Second. Just don’t rent from them. Their maintenance staff is less than par. 8 months later and we still don’t have our dishwasher repaired.
April 10, 2008 at 5:04 pm
Solid work Mr. Judge. Next issue- timeliness of rental repairs- or the bankruptcy of MPM.
April 14, 2008 at 11:15 am
I’m all for the ordinance, but what about walkthroughs at check-in and check-out? Every student should cover his ass (in writing!), and not even let it come to this.
April 14, 2008 at 11:22 am
That’s true, and a pretty good argument, but I’d say this ordinance serves as a supplement to the problem. Even if I notice EVERYTHING on the check-in/check-out, two problems can occur:
1. Some landlords charge for non-existant items
2. Items on the check-in noted as a problem were exaggerated or downplayed by the landlord/student
April 14, 2008 at 11:23 am
Not to mention, the photos serve as proof when the issue of validity comes into play with regard to the writing.
April 14, 2008 at 12:23 pm
CB took the words right out of my mouth.
April 14, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Does anyone know what sort of regulations are in place limiting the number of apartment showings? I know that there must be 24 hours advance notice of a showing, but I am getting sick of a tour nearly every day of the week.
Thank you MPM.
April 28, 2008 at 2:25 pm
I used Badger Property Management and was very happy with the quality of service I was given.
April 29, 2008 at 3:29 am
[...] deal with the Badger Property Management comment advertisements on the CB? Jump to Comments Is this legit? If so, what the hell? Wayne Chisholm April 28, 2008 at 2:25 [...]
May 1, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Hey with all the sharks out there Wayne just made a comment on a honest management company..WTF?
June 3, 2008 at 7:27 pm
I used to work for MPM. I know how they screw the tennants out of every nickel. I am so glad not to work there anymore. Thewy didnt even trust their staff. No background checks on my coworkers (or they didnt care). Well its great to be honest doing checkouts!
June 3, 2008 at 11:28 pm
10 months later… dishwasher works. Shower doesn’t.
June 7, 2008 at 5:45 pm
[...] WKOW (ABC 27) in Madison seems to have a finger on the pulse of …Anyone who reads this blog knows I follow the campus/Madison area media pretty closely. And I don’t… well… ever, comment on the news stations around town. But after seeing the way the photo ordinance was received on campus, …Untitled – http://thecriticalbadger.wordpress.com [...]
September 17, 2008 at 10:20 pm
[...] Protection for their illegal practices in withholding security deposits. Interesting to note is was MPM who actively spoke out against the pro-tenant, pro-student photo ordinance. I am not one so happy to throw regulations on local businesses, but MPM embodies exactly why good [...]